Rumor Roundup for the Nexus 5: More Megapixels, More Everything

Although a new Nexus branded smartphone device from Google is not expected until the October this year, it has not stopped the proper barrage of rumors. New salvo from two sources is predominantly about the camera technology involved: one mentions the 16MP camera sensor by OmniVision, which we talked about last year, that is actually able to record a ludicrous 4K Ultra HD (3840×2160 pixels) video at 30fps, and the other one claims that it is rather a Nikon camera technology on board, with some sort of a ?triple sensor? array.

The first source does sound more like wishful thinking than a real deal, not only due to the aforementioned video capability – but an awkward set of specifications overall. Aside from the 4K/30fps capability, the OmniVision camera sensor inside the Nexus 5 (LG’s codename is "Megalodon") is allegedly capable of 1080p video recording at 60fps, Real Time HDR during photo and video recording, optical image stabilization, etc. While we can somewhat accept the 5.2" 1080p OLED screen, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with a quad 2.3 GHz Krait 400 on the one hand – an unusual 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM (which would mean that two erratic 1.5GB modules were used) and "integrated DVB-T/ATSC antenna" on the other hand do sound bizarre to say the least. Rest of the "Megalodon" specs do appear to be relatively orderly, though: choice of 16/32/64GB for internal storage, 2.1MP front camera, 3300mAh Lithium polymer battery, front positioned (stereo?) speakers and "gesture like controls".

PhoneArena on the other hand got tipped that the "Megalodon" device may not be real, but camera technology involved might be "insanely great" as stated by Google’s senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra. Source claims that the "camera is a selling point, testing module now is better than everything else". One must recall, however, that the similar assertions were made before by many others, and yet the only truly groundbreaking device when it comes to camera tech in recent times is a now dead-in-the-water Nokia Pureview 808. Specs provided by the tipster in this case are also plausible, including the 5-inch 1080p screen, a Snapdragon 600 (800 will supposedly go into Nexus 10.2) SoC, 2GB of RAM, 8/16GB of internal storage and a 3140mAh battery.

It is far too early to mark anything as indubitable at this point in the game. What is definitely more probable is the appearance of the new Motorola brand in just a few months’ time.